


Aftermath

by Aceofstars16



Category: The Silver Eye (Webcomic)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-14
Updated: 2015-11-14
Packaged: 2018-05-01 12:40:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5206217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aceofstars16/pseuds/Aceofstars16
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zendra is curious as to what happened a few days ago when the Raritans arrived and the bridge collapsed. There are rumors of what happened, but she doesn't trust rumors so she goes to the only person who might have answers, Prince Avidan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> This is my take on the aftermath of Chapter 12 of The Silver Eye webcomic. Obviously this isn't canon, but I do hope you still like it!  
> Also, I wrote this a while ago, and as my style keeps developing it might be a slightly different style or feel than my newer works.

It was a clear, cool day in Greenway, but the atmosphere was anything but calm. Only a few days prior, the bridge over the river had collapsed and some people had accused the beloved steward of destroying it. This seemed totally out of character but alas it was the rumor that was going around. But it wasn't the only thing, people were still trying to figure out who had attacked the capitol. Had it been the Raritans? And if so why had the country come to Gallitan's aid? Was it to make them seem innocent? Or had they been there to genuinely try to help? But then why had the king of Raritan tried to capture Velvare? Ok so that last part was a rumor too, but a lot of people attested to it so it seemed possible, or at least more likely than some of the other rumors.

Zendra didn't know the answer to any of these questions, and that bugged her, a lot. She liked to know things, especially when those things could affect the future of Gallitan. However, unlike the past, there were no books for her to study and find the answer, only people to listen to, and unfortunately she never knew when someone was telling the truth. Plus, she doubted many people would tell her anything, she was from Raritan after all. And as much as she tried to keep that fact on the down low a lot of people still seemed to know about it, which was quite annoying. But there was one person that she might be able to get some reliable information from and that as where she was heading.

The crown prince was in the capitol courtyard practicing his swordsmanship on a wooden figure. As she walked, Zendra's gaze flicked to the ruined side of the capitol building. It still looked to be in pretty bad shape but at least there were no more people were trapped inside of it. As she walked up to Avidan he didn't even seem to take notice of her, but that was understandable seeing as he was concentrating on his sword strikes. Plus it wasn't like they were close friends or anything, just casual acquaintances.

"Want a little challenge instead of just hitting a dummy?" Zendra called out, picking up a stray wooden sword as she did so.

At the voice, Avidan stopped and turned his gaze from the dummy to her. There was a slight frown on his face but that was the norm for him. He answered Zendra's question with a simple nod then he got into a fighting stance once again.

Narrowing her eyes in concentration Zendra took up her stance as well and attacked, she figured that speed and surprise would be her best ally because she wasn't the most skilled swordswoman.

Avidan reacted well. He quickly reflected the blow with substantial force then tried to turn back and strike Zendra on the side. But she saw the move and quickly swung her blade, stepping into the block. The two wooden swords flicked back and forth as they spared, blocking, striking and occasionally taking a step back to assess the situation before going in for the attack again.

Zendra tried to stay light on her feet and save as much energy as she could. This helped her quite a bit but Avidan was surprisingly resilient. He was probably trying to get his mind off of what was going on in the capitol...fighting was a good way to ignore a problem; if only for a little while. As soon as the thought crossed her mind Zendra knew she has made a mistake. Even that one second of distraction gave Avidan a chance to strike and she wasn't ready for it. The wooden sword hit her harder than she expected and a yelp escaped her mouth. Although she was annoyed with herself for crying out, Zendra tried to ignore the pain and kept her focus on Avidan. She quickly noticed that he was distracted by her cry and she took that opportunity to lunge forward. Her sword hit him on the shoulder, but she was careful to hit as softly as she could. After all, he WAS the prince. He could get away with bruising her but she didn't want to get on his or anyone else's bad side by actually hurting him.

Even though the strike hadn't been hard Avidan let out a slight yelp of pain. "Be careful!" He said, glaring at her as he rubbed his shoulder.

"I was, trust me, that was a soft blow. It was softer than the one you gave me and you don't see me making a big deal about it," Zendra said as she lowered the sword and rested for a moment.

"But this is practice!" Avidan said, "You shouldn't have even hit me!"

"It's not practice if you don't actually hit anything, and you can get hurt in practice too. It just prepares you even more for an actual battle." As Zendra spoke she knew she was being a little harsh, that is, if she wanted to get on the prince's good side, but she couldn't help being a little firm. It was in her nature. Plus he needed to know that practicing came with it's fair share of bruises, it wasn't meant to be easy; it was designed to prepare him for battle.

"Ugh I swear you are worse than Enel sometimes!" Avidan said as he placed his wooden sword on a stand.

"Please don't compare me to Enel, I'm trying trying to help you become a better fighter. I actually help you practice, he only holds targets for you. Besides fighting takes work and it can hurt. Would you rather get smacked by a wooden sword or injured by a real one because you took it easy in practice?" Zendra said, placing her own sword on the stand as well. It seemed Avidan was done practicing for the day. To her it seemed kind of wimpy but she reminded herself that he had been practicing before she had arrived. Upon further inspection she noticed that there was a little bit of sweat on his shirt which indicated that he had probably been going at it for quite a while before she had shown up.

"Fine, fine, I get it, but that doesn't mean I have to like getting hit," Avidan said then waved and started walking away.

Normally Zendra would have let him go. She didn't really care that he didn't talk to her very much, but the whole reason she had come this time was to get information about what had happened a few days ago so she she quickly trotted after him and called out. "Wait."

The prince stopped and turned around looking at her her with a small frown, "What? You have something to say about how I should enjoy practicing?"

"No, I want to know what happened with the bridge and the Raritans a few days ago. There have been rumors everywhere but only a fool listens to those. I figured you would know more about what actually happened."

"So you only hang out with me to get information? How do I know you're not a spy yourself? You are from Raritan after all," Avidan said, his eyes narrowing as he spoke.

"Just because I am from Raritan doesn't mean I have any association with them. I barely even remember the country. I simply want to know what actually happened so I don't have to keep guessing. I like to know things, is that a crime?" Normally Zendra would have kept her mouth shut, but she tended to get a little offensive when people questioned her loyalties and it was her instinct to set them straight.

Avidan continued to glare at her for a few more seconds before speaking yet again, "You didn't answer my first question; why do you help me train?"

The prince's glare didn't unnerve Zendra one bit but his question did make her feel slightly uncomfortable. She didn't want to tell the truth; that she wanted to get on his good side so she could have another chance at becoming someone memorable. But if she couldn't say that then what would she say that would be believable? "Because you needed someone to help you train that can actually help. Enel isn't exactly the best sparring partner." Ok, that was at least somewhat true and it sounded good, surely he'd be fine with that? But as she looked at him his gaze didn't soften or change at all.

"Why would you care about if I have a sparring partner or not?" He asked, suspicion still lingering in his eyes, but there was something else in them as well, something that was bugging him...maybe not annoying him specifically but...there was something else there and it irked Zendra that she couldn't distinguish what it was.

"Because I want the future ruler of Gallitan to be able to protect himself," she said, still noting the look in the prince's grey eyes. After she spoke they still held that same firmness in them. Then a thought came to her, maybe... "And you looked like you could use a friend...or at least a companion." As the words came out of her mouth Zendra saw Avidan's eyes lighten ever so slightly, and that sent a rush of victory through her. She had figured it out. Her people reading skills were getting better and better. Hopefully one day they would help her get an apprenticeship as an diplomat or strategist...

"Really? Well you figured wrong, I don't need any friends," he said with a huff, and with that the prince walked off.

Zendra didn't buy his words for one second, his eyes had told the truth... It was then that she realized that he hadn't answered her question about the bridge. Biting her lip in annoyance she figured she would just have to try again some other time. That meant she would have to put up with rumors for however long it took Avidan to trust her enough to tell her anything. But she had put up with it for a few days, and she figured she could deal with it for a bit longer.

As she walked back to the orphanage though another thought started creeping into Zendra's mind. Had she really meant what she had said about Avidan needing friends? Yes, she wanted to get on his good side but that didn't necessarily mean they needed to be friends. At the same time, however, the idea of having a friend sounded almost...nice. She had never had a good friend and if becoming friends with Avidan improved her chances of getting a higher position then...she was all for it. And even though she wouldn't admit it to herself, Zendra knew that deep down she really did need a friend...and she figured that's exactly how Avidan felt too...


End file.
